(CNN) - Pope Francis said a “gay lobby” exists inside the Vatican, a surprising disclosure from a pope who has already delivered his share of stunners, and a resurrection of church conflicts that had bedeviled his predecessor's papacy.

“In the Curia,” Francis said, referring to Catholicism’s central bureaucracy, “there are holy people. But there is also a stream of corruption.”

“The 'gay lobby' is mentioned, and it is true, it is there,” Francis continued. “We need to see what we can do.”

Hints that the Holy See contained a network of gay clergy surfaced last year in reports about a series of embarrassing leaks to Italian journalists.

The "Vatileaks" scandal factored in Pope Emeritus Benedict XIV's shocking decision to resign earlier this year, according to some church experts, as it impressed upon the 86-year-old pontiff that the modern papacy requires a vigorous and watchful presence.

Francis' enigmatic comments came during a meeting Sunday with CLAR, the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious Men and Women, who head Catholic communities of priests, sisters and monks.

A Vatican spokesman told CNN, "The Holy See Press Office has no official comment on the private meeting."

Gay and lesbian Catholic groups did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests said, "structure, not sexuality, is the real issue."

"The church is a monarchy. Monarchs are unaccountable. So many monarchs are corrupt. This is true in both secular and religious institutions," SNAP said in a statement.

Other Catholics counseled caution about reading too much into the pope's remarks.

"We don't have any explanation of what 'gay lobby' means," said Rocco Palmo, a Vatican watcher who runs Whispers in the Loggia, a website on Catholic news and church politics.

"Naturally, some in the church will try to polarize or interpret this, but as the rest of us aren't pope, we still have to get further explanation," Palmo added.

Church experts say the Chilean report rings true since the wide-ranging conversation centers on concerns that Francis has made touchstones of his nascent papacy.

In contrast to the buttoned-up Benedict, Francis has earned an early reputation for speaking off the cuff, often ditching prepared remarks in favor of more informal conversations.

On Friday, Francis nixed his “boring” speech and instead took questions from young Catholic students. Asked by a little girl if he wanted to be pope, Francis laughed and said that only someone who “doesn’t love himself” would want the position.

"He has said some things that would turn Benedict whiter than the papal vestments," Palmo joked.

Francis told the Catholic leaders on Sunday to focus on the poor, that the Vatican must be reformed, and joked that whoever wagered on his long-shot election as pope “won a lot, of course.”

But his comments on the "gay lobby" are likely to gain the most attention, especially in the West, where Catholic leaders have been mounting a fierce fight against same-sex marriage.

After Benedict announced his resignation in February, reports circulated that a “gay lobby” had forced his hand.

Cardinals appointed by the former pope to find the source of the leaks investigated high-level Vatican clergy involved in homosexual affairs who might have been vulnerable to blackmail, according to La Repubblica, a leading Italian newspaper.

La Repubblica reported that the cardinals found evidence of a “gay lobby” within the Vatican but gave few details about it.

"Some high level clergy are exposed to the `external influence' – what we would call blackmail – of lay people to whom they are connected through ties of a `worldly nature,'" La Repubblica wrote.

Francis is one of the few Catholic leaders to have seen the Vatican report.

The so-called Vatileaks scandal led to Benedict's butler, Paolo Gabriele, being convicted on charges last year of leaking private papers from the the pope's private office. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

John Allen, CNN’s senior Vatican analyst, has said it would have been odd if the Vatican report had not considered the possibility that "insiders leading a double life," including sexually active clergy, might be vulnerable to pressure to betray the pope.

“It seems a stretch, however, to suggest this is the real reason," behind Benedict's resignation, Allen said.

In one of his first actions as pope, Francis created a council of eight cardinals, including Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, to offer suggestions on reforming the Vatican.

“The reform of the Roman Curia is something that almost all Cardinals asked for in the congregations preceding the Conclave,” Francis said, referring to the meetings that led up to his election in March. “I also asked for it.”

But Francis said that he cannot promote the reform himself. “I am very disorganized,” he said, adding, “I have never been good at this.”

Instead, the pope said, he is relying on his eight appointed cardinals to move the reforms forward.

soundoff(1,872 Responses)

Steve

“As all men are touched by God’s love, so all are also touched by the desire for His intimacy. No one escapes this longing; we are all kings in exile, miserable without the Infinite. Those who reject the grace of God have a desire to avoid God, as those who accept it have a desire for God. The modern atheist does not disbelieve because of his intellect, but because of his will; it is not knowledge that makes him an atheist…The denial of God springs from a man’s desire not to have a God—from his wish that there were no Justice behind the universe, so that his injustices would fear not retribution; from his desire that there be no Law, so that he may not be judged by it; from his wish that there were no Absolute Goodness, that he might go on sinning with impunity. That is why the modern atheist is always angered when he hears anything said about God and religion—he would be incapable of such a resentment if God were only a myth. His feeling toward God is the same as that which a wicked man has for one whom he has wronged: he wishes he were dead so that he could do nothing to avenge the wrong. The betrayer of friendship knows his friend exists, but he wished he did not; the post-Christian atheist knows God exists, but he desires He should not.”
― Fulton J. Sheen

June 11, 2013 at 7:20 pm |

Bob

Nice speculation, but really just wishful thinking on your part and the authors. Or perhaps you could try to present some evidence? Generally, the evidence points away from the Christian god and the crazy claims of the Christian bible, and Christianity is a pretty stupid set of nonsensical beliefs.

June 11, 2013 at 7:23 pm |

Observer

Absolute nonsense and just wishful thinking on his part. I have lost all respect I had for Bishop Sheen.

June 11, 2013 at 7:23 pm |

should there be an atheist reading this..

"...the post-Christian atheist knows God exists, but he desires He should not.”, the mind of an atheist captured quite well!

June 11, 2013 at 7:32 pm |

One one

Nice try but it's utter BS. The reason a person is an atheists is because 1) there is absolutely no evidence for the existence of gods, and 2) it's obvious that all the bible and other god stories sprang from the mind of people, just like mother goose fairy tales.

June 11, 2013 at 7:34 pm |

Lorraine

I did too, Observer, when he came with that "winning!" business.

June 11, 2013 at 7:35 pm |

Speak the Truth

As an openly gay and avowed atheist I have to ask "What?" You've obviously never met an atheist. Frankly we're more concerned with helping our fellow humans and continuing to work to make this a better world. If your gods want to help, great, if not they should get the heck out of the way. You'd rather we all think like you....I get it....but then again, if you're not happy, why should we listen to your advise. Rather, let us simply agree to take care of one another and let people believe what they want. I choose this path not because a god forces me, but because I believe in goodness. You don't need a god to be a good person any more than you need a god to be a good parent, good citizen, good friend, loving partner, etc. etc.

June 11, 2013 at 7:39 pm |

HeavenSent

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Amen.

June 11, 2013 at 8:01 pm |

The real Tom

Is there ANYONE who doesn't laugh at HS's masturbatory posts?

June 11, 2013 at 8:04 pm |

Arthur Bryant

"...the post-Christian atheist knows God exists, but he desires He should not.” It's impossible for a believer to accept that an atheist REALLY dis-believes. I see that crap on this site all the time – "You atheists know God is real, you're just lying to yourselves". Bullsh.it. We.Really.Don't.Believe. Get that through your thick heads.

June 12, 2013 at 9:53 pm |

josh

He sees what he wants to see..

June 11, 2013 at 7:17 pm |

Bob

Yep. Just like every other religious believer. Or maybe, as is commonly the case for religious fraudsters/leaders, he claims to see what he wants others to think he sees.

Personally, I suspect this pope is an atheist. If he is creative, he could turn this issue into a public relations victory. On the other hand he could go for the short term win and sacrifice the long term loss.

June 11, 2013 at 7:03 pm |

Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam

That's just silly.

June 11, 2013 at 7:05 pm |

ISLAM FOUNDATION OF AMERICAN CONSTI TUTION

Fundamentally every christian is an atheist, self centered by faith, and justifies his hindu atheism, criminal self center ism to pass th rough fabrication called Jesus, as a Christ, savior to free him from punishment for his hinduism criminality on the the end.

June 11, 2013 at 7:09 pm
Fundamentally every christian is an atheist, self centered by faith, and justifies his muslim atheism, criminal self center ism to pass th rough fabrication called Jesus, as a Christ, savior to free him from punishment for his islamic criminality on the the end.

June 11, 2013 at 7:16 pm |

Quinnie

Ooooh A gay lobby? Which tour do I go on to see it? I bet its beautiful! Probably filled with lots of lovely Jonathon Adler pottery and Keith Haring paintings!

June 11, 2013 at 7:00 pm |

Zinnie

Does Halston do lobbies?

June 11, 2013 at 7:10 pm |

Science

Hey bible thumpers it is all between your ears that red horn-y beast.

New Tasks Become as Simple as Waving a Hand With Brain-Computer Interfaces

June 11, 2013 —

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130611143315.htm

June 11, 2013 at 7:00 pm |

HeavenSent

+

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Amen.

June 11, 2013 at 8:03 pm |

The real Tom

What's the "+" indicate, HS? Is John your boyfriend? "HS and John, sittin' in a tree, K I S S I N G...

June 11, 2013 at 8:07 pm |

gary

I'm straight. I'd rather have gays on Earth than catholics. Gays live honestly; xtians live ancient myths and folklore.

June 11, 2013 at 6:58 pm |

Tanya

Again, an over generalization. I would wager that some gays live honestly, some live dishonestly. The same could be said for any person and any group of people, regardless of religion.

I believe there was once a God, God then had a family of Gods which God called them His sons and daughters of godliness ways. The original God has long ago died and ever since, the sons and daughters of the very first God did build many celestial manifestations which gave the appearances of God but were for the sons and daughters of the 1st God to be great mansions for the sons and daughters to take residencies within these grand celestial manifestations of Godly appearances. Therefore, the sons and daughters of the 1st God did birth many godly generations upon the atomic peripheries within the atomized domains of the original God's designations in orderly ordainments being ever so consecrated by the 1st generations of God's children. Mankind is nothing more then intelligently ordained atomically manifested multi-cellular buildings maintained by and taken up residencies by all Godly generations from the 1st God of all Creations.

June 11, 2013 at 8:03 pm |

The real Tom

"I believe there was once a God, God then had a family of Gods which God called them His sons and daughters of godliness ways."

I believe you have a teeny, tiny little head full of crap, medication, and crazy.

Vicky? You need to see a shrink TrT and asap! You are losing your mind! Don't ask me to find it for you! I can point you to a great doctor though that's if you are willing to seek help. Should I make an appt. for you?

June 11, 2013 at 8:45 pm |

Michael

It's been estimated between 60% to 80% of the priesthood is gay.

The RCC will enable child molesters but kick out men who have encounters with grown men.

June 11, 2013 at 6:43 pm |

Emilio

It is estimated that 60% to 80% of priests that abuse boys are gay, the rest still dont realize it ande are yet to come out of the colset.

June 11, 2013 at 6:51 pm |

Shane

I highly doubt those numbers. The percentage gay in the priesthood probably isn't much higher than we see outside of it if there is a difference at all.

June 11, 2013 at 6:53 pm |

lol??

It's been estimated that,

"Jer 17:9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

June 11, 2013 at 6:53 pm |

Tanya

Source? There is no factual basis to that statement at all.

June 11, 2013 at 7:00 pm |

ISLAM FOUNDATION OF AMERICAN CONSTI TUTION

Gay ism, hind love ism has been part of higher ups of Christianity all along, even king James of England, author of protestant bible was abused by his french guardian, and himself was a boy abuser.

June 11, 2013 at 7:02 pm |

Jeff

Keep quoting, you nasty, bitter old man. When the beast has you in his jaws because your soul is black and your heart is full of hate, your family will sorrow, but understand.

Tanya I agree with you there is no credible source to validate this numbers that are ridiculous

June 11, 2013 at 7:32 pm |

usresham

Gay lobby existed in AD 200 & before.

June 11, 2013 at 6:34 pm |

lol??

who supported beastie marriage in the usa where you have 60 mil dead????? closeted gays that had plenty of moolah!!

SCARABS fowevewer!!!!!

June 11, 2013 at 6:33 pm |

Jeff

How many have you prevented and adopted, Christian? None? Shut the fuck up, you mysogynistic, bitter old man.

June 11, 2013 at 6:46 pm |

lol??

DRAGON FLOOD, beastie jeff.

June 11, 2013 at 6:50 pm |

Jeff

Bitter old man. Bitter, old, "bachelor" man that you are, I asked you a question, and you have no answer. I have already adopted two that I saved from the abortionist, you ass hole. HOW many have you let die while looking down your holier-than-thou nose, you hypocritical old fuck? Shut up.

June 11, 2013 at 6:57 pm |

snowboarder

of course there is a gay lobby. hom ose xuals exist everywhere in society. why would the roman catholic church be any different?

June 11, 2013 at 6:23 pm |

Colin

Catholics, hey?

Q.1 The completely absurd theory that all 7,000,000,000 human beings on the planet are simultaneously being supervised 24 hours a day, every day of their lives by an immortal, invisible being for the purposes of reward or punishment in the “afterlife” comes from the religion of:

(a) The ancient Celts;

(b) Bronze Age Egyptians;

(c) Pre-Colombian Aztecs; or

(d) Modern Catholics

Q. 2 You are about 70% likely to believe the entire Universe began less than 10,000 years ago with only one man, one woman and a talking snake if you are:

(a) a reptile handler who has severe mental issues;

(b) a five year old boy who just read a fairytale;

(c) a scientific fraud; or

(d) a Catholic

Q. 3 I believe that an all-knowing being, powerful enough to create the entire cosmos and its billions of galaxies, watches me have $ex to make sure I don't do anything "naughty" like protect myself from disease with a condom. I am

(a) A victim of child molestation

(b) A r.ape victim trying to recover

(c) A mental patient with paranoid delusions

(d) A Catholic

Q.4 I have convinced myself that gay $ex is a choice and not genetic, but then have no explanation as to why only gay people have ho.mo$exual urges. I am

(a) A gifted psychologist

(b) A well respected geneticist

(c) A highly educated sociologist

(d) A Catholic with the remarkable ability to ignore inconvenient facts.

Q5. I honestly believe that, when I think silent thoughts like, “please god, help me pass my exam tomorrow,” some invisible being is reading my mind and will intervene and alter what would otherwise be the course of history in small ways to help me. I am

(a) a delusional schizophrenic;

(b) a naïve child, too young to know that that is silly

(c) an ignorant farmer from Sudan who never had the benefit of even a fifth grade education; or

(d) your average Catholic

Q6. Millions and millions of Catholics believe that bread and wine turns into the actual flesh and blood of a dead Jew from 2,000 years ago because:

(a) there are obvious visible changes in the condiments after the Catholic priest does his hocus pocus;

Q.7 The only discipline known to often cause people to kill others they have never met and/or to commit suicide in its furtherance is:

(a) Architecture;

(b) Philosophy;

(c) Archeology; or

(d) Religion

Q.8 What is it that most differentiates science and all other intellectual disciplines from Catholicism:

(a) Catholicism tells people not only what they should believe, but what they MUST believe under threat of “burning in hell” or other of divine retribution, whereas science, economics, medicine etc. has no “sacred cows” in terms of doctrine and go where the evidence leads them;

(b) Catholicism can make a statement, such as “God is comprised of God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit”, and be totally immune from experimentation and challenge, whereas science can only make factual assertions when supported by considerable evidence;

(c) Science and the scientific method is universal and consistent all over the World whereas Catholicism is regional and a person’s Catholicism, no matter how deeply held, is clearly nothing more than geographical upbringing; or

(d) All of the above.

Q.9 If I am found wandering the streets flagellating myself, wading into a filth river, mutilating my child’s genitals or kneeling down in a church believing that a being is somehow reading my inner thoughts and prayers, I am likely driven by:

(a) a deep psychiatric issue;

(b) an irrational fear or phobia;

(c) a severe mental degeneration caused by years of drug abuse; or

(d) my religious belief.

Q.10 Who am I? I don’t pay any taxes. I never have. Any money my organization earns is tax free at the federal, state and local level. Despite contributing nothing to society, but still enjoying all its benefits, I feel I have the right to tell others what to do. I am

(a) A sleazy Wall Street banker

(b) the mafia

(c) A drug pusher; or

(d) the Catholic Church

Q.11 What do the following authors all have in common – Jean Paul Sartre, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Victor Hugo, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, David Hume, René Descartes, Francis Bacon, John Milton, John Locke, and Blaise Pascal:

(a) They are among the most gifted writers the World has known;

(b) They concentrated on opposing dogma and opening the human mind and spirit to the wonders of free thought and intellectual freedom;

(c) They were intimidated by the Catholic Church and put on the Church’s list of prohibited authors; or

(d) All of the above.

Q.12 The AIDS epidemic will kill tens of millions in poor African and South American countries before we defeat it. Condoms are an effective way to curtail its spread. As the Pope still has significant influence over the less educated masses in these parts of the World, he has exercised this power by:

(a) Using some of the Vatican’s incomprehensible wealth to educate these vulnerable people on health family planning and condom use;

(b) Supporting government programs that distribute condoms to high risk groups;

(c) Using its myriad of churches in these regions as “boots on the ground” to distribute condoms; or

(d) Scaring people into NOT using condoms, based upon his disdainful and aloof view that it is better that a person die than go against the Vatican’s position on contraceptive use.

Q.13 The statement “I believe in God because the Bible tells me to and the reason I follow the Bible is because it is the word of God” is:

(a) Circular reasoning at its most obvious;

(b) The reason 99% of Catholics believe what they do;

(c) Specific to the Judeo-Christian parts of the World and totally rejected by all other parts of the World; or

(d) All of the above.

Q.14 Probably the most fundamental tenet of Catholic faith is that God sent his son Jesus to Earth to die and save us from the original sin of Adam and Eve. We now know that Adam and Eve was a myth. As such, any thinking Catholic should:

(a) Honestly and courageously question this and any other aspects of their faith that don’t make sense.

(b) Make up some euphemistic nonsense like “well, we didn’t mean that literally” after having done exactly that for the last 1900 years until science comprehensively disproved it.

(c) Just ignore the blatant contradiction and sweep it under the mat; or

(d) Hold on to the myth because it makes them feel good.

Q.15 Please choose your favorite Catholic superst.ition from those below. For the one you choose, please say why it is any more ridiculous than the rest of the garbage Catholics swallow and give an example of a non-Catholic belief which is just as stupid.

(a) Grocery store bread and wine becomes the flesh and blood of a dead Jew from 2,000 years ago because a priest does some hocus pocus over it in church of a Sunday morning.

(b) When I pray for something like “please god help me pass my exam tomorrow,” an invisible being reads my mind and intervenes to alter what would otherwise be the course of history in small ways to meet my request.

(c) You can pray to a dead person for something. This dead person will then ask God to fulfill your wish. If this happens twice, this dead person becomes a saint.

(d) A god impregnated a virgin with himself, so he could give birth to himself and then sacrifice himself to himself to negate an “original sin” of a couple we now know never existed.

June 11, 2013 at 6:22 pm |

HeavenSent

Mark 4:19

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Amen.

June 11, 2013 at 6:28 pm |

Muhammad

Bismillah a very long and wrong post

June 11, 2013 at 6:33 pm |

usresham

You seems to be awaiting an opportunity to spit out all you have to say.

June 11, 2013 at 6:37 pm |

Science

Hey faithy.................your faith is

Penn & Teller; The Bible is Bullsh-it.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RV46fsmx6E&w=640&h=360]

June 11, 2013 at 6:44 pm |

kryg

Your test is comical not only as a test but on yourself because your ignorance of current Catholic theology and biblical exegeses is highly evident. Your quiz is a waste of time. Study some more. Your just anti-Catholic and full of negative feelings about the Catholic Church.

June 11, 2013 at 6:44 pm |

Dippy

Kryg it's you're, not your. Take fifth grade again.

June 11, 2013 at 6:48 pm |

cardone

I did not know that you are so ignorant about religion, specifically about Jesus Christ, especially you LINK the DIRTY PRIESTS with Jesus Christ.

Uhmmmm......You need to get back to school.

June 11, 2013 at 6:48 pm |

kryg

Your test is comical not only as a test but on yourself because your ignorance of current Catholic theology and biblical exegeses is highly evident.

June 11, 2013 at 6:48 pm |

Chuckles

@kryg et al

I honestly can't for the life of me understand why whenever Colin posts something like this he is immediately attacked but every attacker refrains from pointing where he's actually wrong and instead opts to say something along the lines of, "you don't know what you're talking about".

Go on, actually engage him this time, someone please! Tell me where exactly he's so off base that everything he's posted is actually legitamately wrong.

June 11, 2013 at 6:49 pm |

kryg

Your test is comical not only as a test but on yourself because your ignorance of current Catholic theology and biblical exegeses is highly evident. Your quiz is a waste of time. Study some more. You are just anti-Catholic and full of negative feelings about the Catholic Church.

June 11, 2013 at 6:50 pm |

DAN

You do not have to worry. 'HE EVEN LOVES THE IGNORANT

June 11, 2013 at 6:58 pm |

kryg

Chuckle, nobody should post something that can be seen by the whole world without checking facts first. The motive of this post is simple to attack the Catholic Church.

June 11, 2013 at 6:58 pm |

Tanya

These things could be said about a lot of different christian denominations...so?

Actually gay men who are living in denial married to women (or who run and hide in the Priesthood) sometimes have stunted $exual attractions to children because they repressed their $exuality so that it didn't develop normally – they are high risk for molesting children.

To the extent which someone represses their $exuality, there will be a proportional lack of age progression in their $exual attractions. To the extent which someone represses their $exuality, there will be a proportional increase in obsession with their $exuality. Common sense Modern Psychology works much better than the bible.

June 11, 2013 at 6:16 pm |

Juan

Wait a minute – are you saying I shouldn't be able to have slaves either???

June 11, 2013 at 6:18 pm |

Athy

Try sexuality. It reads better.

June 11, 2013 at 6:19 pm |

HeavenSent

+
Mark 4:19

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Amen.

June 11, 2013 at 6:29 pm |

Sarah

What Patrick is pinting out is that if you were born gay but were forced to repress it because of being raised in a religious household, then the odd's are higher that you may be attracted to young children as you were never allowed to let your pubecent attraction mature. When you are a 13 year old boy and find yourself overcome with emotional attraction for a young girl you get to talk about it with peers, parents or even with the girl if you so dare. As a 13 year old boy who finds yourself attracted to another 13 year old boy, well shame on you and your family if anyone ever finds out!! So what happens? You find yourself as a 48 year old boy still attracted to 13 year old boys. This can also happen with straight kids of course as well who repress their attraction and never get the courage to speak to the 13 year old girl they like and sometimes that sticks and now you have a 48 year old boy still attracted to 13 year old girls.

So who is truly responsible for so many pedophiles in this world? Organized religion and it's coordinated discrimination and bigotry that forced so many to hide who they were and repress their attractions all for fear of an imagined burny place.

June 11, 2013 at 6:39 pm |

Emilio

Patrick, Your common sense is wrong, and If you were more into science and statistices and less into bashing religion you could have realized it yourself, but I will help you anyway, google teachers vs priests, and you will learn that Associated Press found public school teachers to abuse many more children than catholic priests (after taking scale into account) you will find a study published by USA Today, in 2010 that reached the same conclusion, and states that the abuse in public schools in the USA is a problem a 100 times worse that the problem with Catholic Priests, so please leave your common sense behind and at least stick to science if you intend to critizcise a religion.

June 11, 2013 at 6:46 pm |

Sarah

Emilio, I know your reading skills are lacking but no where did Patrick say that it's the Priesthood that churns out pedophiles, he said "gay men" sometimes "have stunted $exual attractions to children because they repressed their $exuality so that it didn't develop normally – they are high risk for molesting children." He merely points out that some of those men go into the priesthood to hide from their parents and peers pushing them toward a relationship with someone they are not attracted to. So this has nothing to do with whether you are a priest or not, but does have everything to do with whether you are raised in a family that forces their children to repress their s.exuality.

Mutual tolerance...very well stated. Some pearls of wisdom do not require more than this.

June 11, 2013 at 6:37 pm |

Michael

Tell you what, why don't you allow gay people to vote on the civil rights of straight people and then we can talk.

June 11, 2013 at 6:42 pm |

Sarah

Did I miss something? When has there been a period of gay's being prejudiced against straights? As far as I have seen they have been forced to "tolerate" and even pretend to be "straight" for decades. Have you ever heard of a gay person saying "Um, I just can't be here at your party Daniel because you invited that straight person, i'm leaving!" I have heard that almost verbatim from a Christian I knew.

June 11, 2013 at 6:48 pm |

Tanya

Way to over generalize there, buddy

June 11, 2013 at 7:04 pm |

Reality

Another nail in the lid of the coffin of the RCC !!! Once again, run Catholics before you are buried in the crumbling churches of "fems" (flaws, errors, muck and stench) the eats away at the foundations of all religions.

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.